Khrushchev, Bulganin, Sukselainen

Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) assumed leadership of the Soviet Union during the period following the death of Josef Stalin in 1953. Khrushchev served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. Nikita Khrushchev was removed from power by Party leadership, in 1964, and was initially replaced by a troika consisting of Alexey Kosygin who assumed the role of Soviet Premier, Leonid Brezhnev who served as Party Secretary, and Anastas Mikoyan who served as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Brezhnev eventually arose to assume the central role among the three and, under Brezhnev's rule, the Soviet expanded its sphere of influence to include much of Southeast Asia, Africa, parts of Central America, and the Caribbean. Until his death, in 1971, Khrushchev was closely monitored by the government.